The present invention provides a unique and multifunction cover or shield for a trailer coupler which alleviates two significant problems.
A trailer coupler, by definition, provides a means for coupling or attaching a trailer to a towing vehicle. Trailers have been and continue to be in widespread use for hauling a wide variety of cargos, e.g., boats. When trailers are detached from a towing vehicle they of course are at rest, and many trailers have a support means for supporting the forward portion of the trailer so that the trailer maintains substantially the same attitude about its pitch axis as it would have when attached to a towing vehicle. The trailer comprises in part a longitudinally-extending member. At the very forward end of said member is a coupler means which is adapted to be attached to a ball trailer hitch on the towing vehicle. The coupler means in most cases comprises an inverted cup-like member for receiving a ball trailer hitch, and the cup-like member typically has a horizontally extending rim or flange portion around the periphery thereof. The aforesaid flange portion is relatively thin, e.g., one-eighth of an inch, and thus poses a serious safety hazard if once accidentally or otherwise bumps into it, which unfortunately, occurs far too frequently. The present invention solves this problem.
Another issue associated with trailer couplers is that they are exposed to the weather, both when the trailer is at rest detached from the towing vehicle, and also when the trailer is attached to the towing vehicle. The trailer coupler has some moving parts and further, usually there are auxiliary apparatus such as safety chains and electrical connecting wires which can be adversely affected by the weather and also by factors such as “kicked-up” stones or other debris from the roadway as the trailer is in forward motion with the towing vehicle. The present invention provides a weatherproof enclosure for the trailer coupler and associated auxiliary apparatus.